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Sustainability

LEED Rating System
LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a rating system, developed and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, that was designed to guide and distinguish high performance buildings that have less of an impact on the environment, are healthier for those who use the building, and are more profitable than their conventional counterparts.

LEED is a performance-oriented rating system where building projects earn points for satisfying criterion designed to address specific environmental impacts inherent in the design, construction, operations and management of a building.

The rating system is organized into five categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. An additional category, innovation and design, awards points to LEED projects that develop new solutions, employ new technologies, educate or realize exemplary performance in another area.

LEED Existing Building – Operations & Maintenance
A sustainable building is one that maximizes operational efficiencies and at the same time reduces its environmental impact on the surrounding environment. The LEED EB O & M program provides a path for facility owners and operators to reduce operating costs while at the same time providing a healthy, productive work environment for employees.

LEED EB O&M certification is based on actual building performance and not design intent as is the case with LEED New Constructing certification. The certification process identifies the “performance period” where performance is measured and benchmarked against the credits and requirements of LEED EB O&M.

LEED EB O&M measures exterior maintenance programs, water and energy efficiency, use of environmentally friendly products, indoor environmental quality and effectiveness of recycling programs.

The certification process requires that the applicant achieve 34 out of a possible 92 credits and meet all the prerequisites outlines in the LEED EB O&M guidelines. The following thresholds for certification are required to achieve the four different levels of LEED EB O&M: